Ronny F. Wade, The Sun Will Shine Again, Someday. Springfield, MO: 1986. xvi + 208 pp.
The subtitle of this book says it all: “A history of
the non-class, one cup Churches of Christ.” The author, Ronny F. Wade, is a long-time, widely-regarded preacher within this group. As one might expect, the history he
writes is characterized by advocacy. He is much like the sports announcer who, while calling the game, always
cheers for his team.
A bit of background and explanation. The contemporary mainline non-instrumental Churches of Christ
adopted the practice of having various Bible classes—sometimes called Sunday
School—around the beginning of the twentieth century. They also adopted the use
of individual cups for the Lord’s Supper. But not everyone went along. Ever since then, the “non-class, one
cup Churches of Christ” have made up a marginal, though significant, group.
Also, they are convinced that other congregations of the Churches of Christ—not to
mention the rest of the Christian world—are in sin, unfaithful to the Lord. Thus, Wade
refers to those outside the group as “digressives,” even those people who sympathize with the conclusions of "digressives" but who do not treat those conclusions as tests of fellowship.
Wade sometimes provides general background for the story
he tells. For example, in Chapter Three he relates the rise of the Sunday
School Movement, beginning in Great Britain and moving to America. At other
points, Wade focuses on intimate doctrinal and personality conflicts within the
non-class, one cup group. For instance, he sometimes quotes at length the correspondence
between warring preachers and debaters quibbling over the terms in the propositions
to be discussed. In these sections, the book seems more like a chronicle than a
history.
Throughout, the author provides little in the way of
social or political context for his story. Wade notes in Chapter Seven that the
group he belongs to remained pacifist even during and after the Second World
War. But he tells the reader very little about the group’s interactions with
the federal government, which must have been a fascinating story still waiting to be
told. Instead, the author focuses on what he knows so well: minute doctrinal history and the biographies of leading preachers, men like Dr. G. A. Trott, Homer L. King, J. Ervin Waters, and J. D. Phillips. Consequently, his book is almost always
descriptive rather than analytical.
The
Sun Will Shine Again, Someday includes numerous photos
of leading preachers in the non-class, one cup movement. Documentation appears at the end of each
chapter. The book is missing an index, which would have been useful.
Readers will likely admire the conviction and tenacity of the group Wade has described, They might also lament what some will view as the narrowness and penchant for remaining small and insular. Thirty years have passed since this book was first published. It would be interesting to know what has happened since then. Perhaps the author, now in his eighties, would consider producing an updated edition of his work. Either way, this book is an important secondary source on its topic.
Readers will likely admire the conviction and tenacity of the group Wade has described, They might also lament what some will view as the narrowness and penchant for remaining small and insular. Thirty years have passed since this book was first published. It would be interesting to know what has happened since then. Perhaps the author, now in his eighties, would consider producing an updated edition of his work. Either way, this book is an important secondary source on its topic.
